Lt Col Herman attacked what he described as the Met's "macho" culture and called for Sir Bernard to resign.

He said: "The police live and thrive off VIPs, there is this enormous tranche of VIP allegations.

"And they have made cock-up after cock-up after cock-up which the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police had failed to take charge of. If someone can't run their unit, or their ship, you sack him and put someone else in.

"And I firmly believe he should be sacked.

"You lack moral courage if you can't put your hand up and say 'I'm sorry, I made a cock-up'."

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has rejected calls for his resignationCredit:
PA

Lt Col Herman, from Hook in Hampshire, was accused of sexually abusing a young girl four times at his home in south west London or a nearby garage.

During his trial it was alleged that he boasted about his links to the royals and drove the young girl to Buckingham Palace in his VW camper van.

His accuser said she confided in her friend about the alleged abuse 20 years ago, but went to police only after the Savile scandal in 2012.

Lt Col Herman said the first he knew of any complaint came in a "tiny little letter" which landed on his doormat on February 28 2013.

It mentioned an "allegation of assault" and asked for a meeting at a "mutually convenient time and place".

He had no idea how serious the allegations were or that he could have been arrested and said he "was led like a lamb to the slaughter" by police.

What followed was two and a half years of being repeatedly bailed and rebailed as his case dragged on before finally ending in a week-long trial.

"I was on bail for 27 bloody months, 18 months without even being charged, during which time my family was going through absolute hell", he said.

"I knew I was innocent, I'm a big boy, I'm a Royal Marine I'll take them on. But with regards to the family and my four daughters, that was not funny."

Lord Bramall was cleared after a year under suspicionCredit:
PA

In the meantime, the police used his unblemished career in the marines as a reason to arrest him, Lt Col Herman said.

"When I was arrested the police officers said 'first of all, he is a Royal Marines officer, and because of his intense training he will know how to go abroad and to go undercover.

"At the time I was 79 years old. So I was going to take my nap sack on my shoulder and go abroad. It is just out of this world. And that was the reason they gave for arresting me."

"I was on bail for 27 bloody months, 18 months without even being charged, during which time my family was going through absolute hell."

Lieutenant-Colonel Benjamin Herman

He says it was many months before police interviewed his family to discover if they had any evidence relating to the allegations.

Looking back, he believes he was a victim of a "witch hunt" and warned that the stigma surrounding sex assault allegations tarnishes the accused for life.

He wants the use of pre-charge bail strictly curbed, and for those who are accused of sex crimes to have anonymity until conviction.

Lt Col Herman was speaking at the annual conference for the British False Memory Society, a charity which campaigns about false memories, particularly in sexual abuse allegations.